Over the past year, survey after survey after survey has shown that inflation is Americans’ chief financial concern. If many of us vote our pocketbooks, as they say, it’s plausible that the 2024 presidential election could come down to which candidate voters believe will be better for the prices of necessities like food.
With this in mind, we took a look back at how grocery prices have changed since the last presidential election. Among the 32 types of groceries that we analyzed, the four-year price changes range from a decrease of 2% to an increase of 120%.
Can you guess which food saw a price decrease or which saw the 120% increase? Probably not. And you just might be surprised by how small some of the price increases are — the 120% jump is not the rule, with no other food price jump anywhere near that large.
Keep reading to learn more about the data and then judge the price changes for yourself.
About the data
All prices in this article are from U.S. Department of Labor data on city prices — meaning each average price in this article represents the average across U.S. urban areas specifically. This data was not seasonally adjusted. We did not round off prices, though we rounded off percentages after computing them.
For a 2024 reference point, we chose July because it was the latest month for which data was available at the time of our research.
For a 2020 reference point, we chose July to eliminate any skewing effect due to seasonal price variations. (Using prices from November 2020 instead of July 2020 arguably would have given a more accurate sense of how prices have changed since the 2020 election specifically, but it would not have been as fair. In most cases, prices were higher in November 2020 than they were in July 2020 due in part to seasonal price variations.)
Now for the price increases — and that one decrease.
Beef
Ground chuck (100% beef):
- Average price in July 2020: $4.732 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $5.470 per pound
- Change: 16% increase
Ground beef (100% beef):
- Average price in July 2020: $4.264 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $5.497 per pound
- Change: 29% increase
Boneless round roast (USDA Choice):
- Average price in July 2020: $5.884 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $7.121 per pound
- Change: 21% increase
Boneless sirloin steak (USDA Choice):
- Average price in July 2020: $9.413 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $11.726 per pound
- Change: 25% increase
Pork
Sliced bacon:
- Average price in July 2020: $5.776 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $6.883 per pound
- Change: 19% increase
Pork chops:
- Average price in July 2020: $3.910 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $4.409 per pound
- Change: 13% increase
Boneless ham (non-canned):
- Average price in July 2020: $4.574 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $5.727 per pound
- Change: 25% increase
Chicken
Fresh whole chicken:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.712 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.988 per pound
- Change: 16% increase
Bone-in chicken legs:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.579 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.786 per pound
- Change: 13% increase
Boneless chicken breast:
- Average price in July 2020: $3.221 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $3.946 per pound
- Change: 23% increase
Carbs
White pan bread:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.485 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.975 per pound
- Change: 33% increase
Whole wheat pan bread:
- Average price in July 2020: $2.144 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $2.693 per pound
- Change: 25% increase
Uncooked long-grain white rice:
- Average price in July 2020: $0.772 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.039 per pound
- Change: 35% increase
Fresh produce
Bananas:
- Average price in July 2020: $0.580 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $0.613 per pound
- Change: 6% increase
Strawberries:
- Average price in July 2020: $2.020 per 12 ounces
- Average price in July 2024: $2.166 per 12 ounces
- Change: 7% increase
White potatoes:
- Average price in July 2020: $0.854 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.017 per pound
- Change: 19% increase
Field-grown tomatoes:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.977 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.945 per pound
- Change: 2% decrease (yes, you read that right — decrease)
Milk and eggs
Fresh fortified whole milk:
- Average price in July 2020: $3.255 per gallon
- Average price in July 2024: $3.983 per gallon
- Change: 22% increase
Fresh non-whole milk (includes low fat, reduced fat and skim):
- Average price in July 2020: $3.002 per gallon
- Average price in July 2024: $3.748 per gallon
- Change: 25% increase
Large grade-A eggs:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.401 per dozen
- Average price in July 2024: $3.080 per dozen
- Change: 120% increase
Other dairy
Stick butter:
- Average price in July 2020: $3.572 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $4.897 per pound
- Change: 37% increase
Processed American cheese:
- Average price in July 2020: $4.189 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $4.874 per pound
- Change: 16% increase
Natural cheddar cheese:
- Average price in July 2020: $5.517 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $5.599 per pound
- Change: 1% increase
Yogurt:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.216 per 8 ounces
- Average price in July 2024: $1.682 per 8 ounces
- Change: 38% increase
Other beverages
Frozen orange juice from concentrate:
- Average price in July 2020: $2.339 per 12-ounce can
- Average price in July 2024: $4.248 per 12-ounce can
- Change: 82% increase
100% ground coffee (all sizes):
- Average price in July 2020: $4.536 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $6.307 per pound
- Change: 39% increase
All soft drinks:
- Average price in July 2020: $1.721 per 2 liters
- Average price in July 2024: $2.087 per 2 liters
- Change: 21% increase
Red and white table wine (all sizes, any origin):
- Average price in July 2020: $12.405 per 1 liter
- Average price in July 2024: $13.918 per 1 liter
- Change: 12% increase
Baking staples
All-purpose white flour:
- Average price in July 2020: $0.461 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $0.574 per pound
- Change: 25% increase
White sugar (all sizes):
- Average price in July 2020: $0.627 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $1.004 per pound
- Change: 60% increase
Desserts
Chocolate-chip cookies:
- Average price in July 2020: $3.696 per pound
- Average price in July 2024: $5.102 per pound
- Change: 38% increase
Prepackaged regular ice cream:
- Average price in July 2020: $4.898 per half-gallon
- Average price in July 2024: $6.030 per half-gallon
- Change: 23% increase
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